1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 18: Crazy Provencal People
"Find me?"

Zoe was in a trance for a moment.

Didn’t we separate at noon?
"Can you tell me the contact information of Apted Auto Dealer?" Ronan asked politely.

During lunch, Ronan and Zoe talked about cars.

Zoe said she also wanted to buy a car and had looked at it several times at the car dealer in Apte.

At that time, Ronan had not yet decided on the order of the car, heating and window repairs, so he did not discuss this topic in depth.

In the afternoon, he thought about it seriously.

Before March, he had a stable income every week, and it was not a low income, so he could solve the biggest expense, the vehicle problem, first.

He was not used to the life of borrowing things from others every day. Moreover, with his own car, he could leave a few hours earlier and did not have to wait until Louis' family got up before knocking on the door. This way, his weekly income could be increased.

Even if I don't have enough money now, I can just borrow some more, work hard to dig truffles and make money, and then pay it back.

"I'll get paper and pen and write it down for you." Zoe turned and left.

Soon after, Zoe handed him a piece of paper with an address and phone number:
“It should be easy to find.”

Ronan then said gratefully:

"Thank you. I can't even count how many times you've helped me."

Behind Zoe, Leah suddenly appeared in her home clothes:

"Are you in any trouble?"

Ronan greeted Mrs. Leah and said he came to ask Zoe about buying a car.

Leah first looked at Zoe with a complicated expression, then asked Ronan with a smile:
"Would you like to come in and sit for a while? I've prepared afternoon tea."

Leah had carefully observed Ronan and Zoe's performance at parties several times and found that they basically didn't say anything.

But women's sixth sense always makes them feel that there is something going on between the two of them, so they rack their brains to design opportunities for them to appear in the same frame, in order to find clues.

"No, Mrs. Leah, I have something else to do." Ronan refused with a smile.

After closing the door, Zoe crossed her arms, frowned, and asked her mother:
"Mom, you've been acting a little weird lately."

Leah escapes into the kitchen:

"Honey, you must be overthinking it. Do you want cherry pie?"

God, please forgive the lies told by a mother who cares about her daughter!
The next morning, Ronan drove Louis's old hatchback Citroen to Apt.

Apt is only 20 kilometers away from the village of Lourmarin, but it is a beautiful town with a population of several thousand.

There are many famous restaurants here, even some at the Michelin level. Ronan has wanted to come here for a long time, and today he finally found the opportunity.

Heading north along the D232 highway, Ronan finally saw a "large number" of vehicles after many days.

Living in Lourmarin, it is difficult to see a car even if you walk on the road for a whole day. Ronan lived there for more than half a month and only saw Louis, Freddy and Pierre's cars.

Normally, truffles are picked in places where there are few people and no cars.

Now seeing so many cars on the road, it actually feels a bit novel.

But he soon discovered a strange phenomenon - the cars on the road were too old, as if there was a classic car parade being held nearby.

The paint on these vehicles has peeled off and they are covered with rust. The engines are wheezing as if they have tuberculosis, and the exhaust pipes are shaky, making monster-like roars.

Ronan couldn't help but dub them:

"Save me! Take me to the garbage dump! I really can't run anymore!"

His old Citroen hatchback in front of them was as vibrant as the sun at 7 o'clock in the morning, but the mechanical dashboard recorded that it had traveled 12 kilometers.

Ronan swore that he would never laugh at Pierre's pickup truck again, which made more noise than a tractor, had a mileage of 18 kilometers and lacked a turn signal.

"Can this be used on the road?" Ronan couldn't help but complain.

Although these cars look old, they drive quite fast.

An Opel that looked like Citroën's grandfather easily overtook Ronan. When they passed each other, he found that the driver was an old man who was older than his grandfather. When another car with a bumpy bumper, broken rear lights, scratched body and exhaust pipe dragged on the ground passed him, Ronan clearly saw that the driver had both hands off the steering wheel and was talking and gesturing to the co-pilot.

"Can this be used on the road?" Ronan couldn't help but exclaimed.

Provence is scary!

Having experienced so many surprises along the way, Ronan gave up the idea of wandering around Apt and went straight to his destination.

Ronan was greeted by a burly man named Olsen.

"Buy a car?"

"Correct."

"I'll show you some nice guys."

Ronan followed Olsen to look at more than a dozen cars and found that they were all second-hand without exception. Perhaps the classic car parade just now left a psychological trauma on Ronan, so he asked Nelson:
“No new car?”

Olsen paused and stroked his beard vigorously:
"You want to buy a new car?"

Ronan nodded:
"Yes."

"In Provence, almost no one buys new cars. If you want a brand new car, you have to go to Avignon or Marseille." Olsen took Ronan back the same way.

Avignon is the capital city of the Vaucluse department.

Marseille is the capital city of the Bouches-du-Rhône department.

Obviously, buying a new car in Provence is not an easy task.

Ronan was a little frustrated, but still grateful for his introduction:

"Thank you, I'll go to Avignon again while there's still time."

Nelson shook his head and said in confusion:

"I can't understand what you city people think. The car was not invented to attract the shock of strangers and the envy of neighbors. The car is just a metal box with four wheels. Its function is to transport things from one place to another. As long as it can be driven, it can be used."

Ronan has yellow skin and doesn't have a local accent, so Nelson thought he was a foreigner at first sight.

Ronan's idea also confirmed Nelson's guess.

Ronan was stunned by Nelson's "car view", which was a metaphor he had never thought of before.

He didn't think of buying a new car out of vanity, but was worried that the car was too old and would break down frequently, which would result in higher costs. Instead of that, why not buy a new car?

Although the deal was not made, Nelson still drove Ronan all the way to the parking lot, but he didn't expect that there was a traffic jam in the parking lot.

The two cars stopped nose to nose, neither of them willing to give way to the side of the road. The drivers stared at each other through the windshield, and it seemed like they were about to get out and hit each other in the next second.

They both seem to be the ones who are right, and also the ones who are wrong. Perhaps their mistake is that the road is too narrow.

Ronan wanted to go over and help them, as he wouldn't be able to get out if the stalemate continued, but one of the cars actually moved.

The moment this car started, the car on the opposite side also moved.

Obviously if one person takes a step back, the two can pass, but the two cars choose to push forward at the same time, solving the problem in a 'tightrope walking' manner.

The distance between them was never greater than 3 centimeters, and there were other innocent vehicles parked on both sides of the two cars.

Several times, they were almost brushing against other vehicles as they passed.

Ronan's heart was in his throat because in order to stay away from the cars on both sides, the two cars were about to hit each other.

Suddenly, one of the parties rolled down the window:
"What's the bumper for? It's there to protect against impacts! Turn the steering wheel over there!"

The other driver also rolled down his window, pulled out his rearview mirror, pointed at the other driver and said:
"How did you get a driver's license? I left you so much room and you couldn't get through?"

Ronan grabbed Nelson who was about to leave as if he was grabbing a lifeline:

"Mr. Nelson, I changed my mind, I need a used car!"

The people of Provence are crazy!
Help! !
(End of this chapter)